Foundation drilling has evolved over time and continues to be an essential operation for all construction of bridges, buildings, and skyscrapers. Without proper holes for the drilled foundation piles, a building or bridge could be destroyed in the event of an earthquake. In an effort to improve the production and quality of drilled foundations, there has been huge investment, and advancement, in the equipment and tools of the trade.
Some of the most common tools used by foundation drillers are the separate digging, and cleanout buckets. Digging buckets are used to dig through hard layers of dirt and rock and are known for their ability in keeping fluid within the hole as clean as possible and to keep holes true and straight as possible. Augers are used for digging large holes but have no efficient means of moving wet material to the surface. Cleanout buckets are used to clean the bottom of the holes during the digging process to remove any loose rocks and soil to ensure a clean solid bottom surface for a foundation.
In executing pile foundations in construction work, a unique method of drilling earth is proposed in this application. In this method a rotatable bucket is used for excavating a straight pile bore and also moving the excavated soil from the bore hole to the surface. The Axially Separating Drill Bucket assembly is attached to the lowermost position of a Kelly bar, a conventional part of the drilling rig, and suspended to perform the drilling operation. When the bucket is rotated the soil excavated by a unique drill head is moved into the drill bucket. The drill bucket filled with the excavated soil is then raised by the drilling rig and the soil in the bucket is removed when an actuator member comes in contact with the rotating sombrero, a conventional part of the drilling rig, and the drill bucket is either raised above the drill head or the drill head pushed down from the drill bucket. Several methods can be used to accomplish this similar process, some being a scissor action mechanical method, a hydraulic actuated method, a direct downward pressure method and a method where a latch is actuated by a rod coming against the sombrero to release the drill head to translate down a shaft to remove the material, by the means of rapidly spinning the device.
Numerous innovations for drills used for drilling foundation piles have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which, they address, they differ from the present design as hereinafter contrasted. The following is a summary of those prior art patents most relevant to this application at hand, as well as a description outlining the difference between the features of the Axially Separating Drill Bucket and the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,062 of Hachiro Inoue describes an automatic evacuation drilling bucket comprises a follower formed with a working space for receiving a blade member which is capable of coming in contact with an osculating arm, the working space having upper, lower, transition and receiving compartments. If the blade member is located in the upper and lower compartments, the blade member is engaged with the follower when a drive shaft member is rotated in the normal and reverse directions. If the blade member is urged to move into the receiving compartment through the transition compartment, the blade member comes in contact with the osculating arm when the drive shaft member is rotated in the reverse direction.
This patent describes an automatic evacuation drilling bucket that operates with a fixed drill bucket that has a hinged member at the bottom for the removal of the excavated material. If the material sticks to the side of the drill bucket it must be jarred to remove it and that often damages the equipment involved. It does not have the capability of digging the hole, cleaning the hole out, moving the material to the surface, separating the drill bucket from the drill head and pushing the material out in one operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,163 of Akira Ohashi et al describes a drilling bucket apparatus for expanding a bore-hole bottom for a cast-in-place pile. Drill bits are pivotally suspended from the upper portion of a drill pipe, which is a main frame of the apparatus, and are expanded and retracted radially by means of hydraulic cylinders. A bucket is attached to the lower end of the drill pipe and scrapers are installed on the side of the bucket. The scrapers are arranged to open and close sideward, following the movement of the drill bits. During drilling work, the apparatus is suspended from a Kelly bar of a drilling machine. When the apparatus is rotated and the drill bits are expanded, the whole expanded shape of a bore-hole bottom is drilled simultaneously and cuttings are scraped into the bucket by means of the drill bits and the scrapers. Further, a bottom lid of the bucket can be released by operating a hydraulically-actuated opening lever, whereby, cuttings are discharged automatically.
This patent describes a drilling bucket apparatus for expanding a bore-hole bottom for a cast-in-place pile. It does not have the capability of digging the hole, cleaning the hole out, moving the material to the surface, separating the drill bucket from the drill head and pushing the material out in one operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,818 of Hachiro Inoue describes an under reaming pile bore excavating bucket and the method of excavating an under reamed part of a pile bore, and more particularly to an excavating bucket such that an under reamed part of a pile bore can be excavated and further the excavated soil can be moved into the bucket body for easy removal of soil. The bucket includes, in particular, a plurality of slidable wing bits housed within a bucket and moved downward and extended outward along guide rails at the bottom, of an already excavated straight pile bore.
This patent describes an under reaming pile bore excavating bucket and the method of excavating an under reamed part of a pile bore. The bucket, includes, in particular, a plurality of slidable wing bits housed within, a bucket and moved downward and extended outward along guide rails at the bottom of an already excavated straight pile bore. It does not have the capability of digging the hole, cleaning the hole out, moving the material to the surface, separating the drill bucket from the drill head and pushing the material out in one operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,126,124 of Frank S. McCutcheon describes an excavating bucket that may be used for circular shafts and wells, and that may be completely operated and controlled with only one cable. A further object of this invention is to provide an excavating bucket to be used in confined quarters where the space of operation is limited. Still further objects of this invention are to provide an excavating bucket that is positive in its action, which conforms to the shape of the excavation, that allows water to run from the excavated material in the bucket and that has few moving parts. A still further object of this invention is to provide an excavating bucket that is economical in manufacture, durable and efficient in use.
This patent describes an excavating bucket that may be used for circular shafts and wells. It does not have the capability of digging the hole, cleaning the hole out, moving the material to the surface, separating the drill bucket from the drill head and pushing the material out in one operation.
US pending Patent Application Publication No. US 2004/0168831 A1 of Satoshi Nozaki et al. describes locking elements that are provided at an inner member connected to a Kelly bar, and a locking element bearing plate provided at an outer member. The outer member includes a cylindrical bucket and a grab bucket housed inside the cylindrical bucket. When an excavating tool is in its most contracted state, the inner member is rotated forward to lock the locking elements at the locking element bearing plate, thereby disallowing relative vertical movement of the inner member and the outer member. As the excavating tool is rotated by applying a force to the Kelly bar along the lifting direction in this state, an excavating operation can be executed while applying a load smaller than the load of the excavating tool. As a result, it becomes possible to execute an excavating operation with a large excavating tool in conjunction with an earth drill having a small drive force. Projections provided at the outer circumference of the inner member are fitted at guide rails extending along the longitudinal direction and provided at the inner circumference of the second member so as to be allowed to move up/down freely. Thus, the grab bucket having an underground obstacle grabbed therein can be rotated to remove the underground obstacle.
This patent describes a device where the outer member includes a cylindrical bucket and a grab bucket housed inside the cylindrical bucket. When an excavating tool is in its most contracted state, the inner member is rotated forward to lock the locking elements at the locking element bearing plate, thereby disallowing relative vertical movement of the inner member and the outer member. It does not have the capability of digging the hole, cleaning the hole out, moving the material to the surface, separating the drill bucket from the drill head and pushing the material out in one operation.
None of these previous efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the Axially Separating Drill Bucket. The present design achieves its intended purposes, objects and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing readily available materials.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of this application in detail it is to be understood that the design is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The Axially Separating Drill Bucket is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways, in addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.